Asterivora oleariae

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Asterivora oleariae
Asterivora oleariae holotype.png
Male holotype
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Choreutidae
Genus:
Asterivora
Species:
A. oleariae
Binomial name
Asterivora oleariae
, 1979[1]

Asterivora oleariae is a species of moth in the family Choreutidae.[2] It is endemic to New Zealand and can be found on Stewart Island, Big South Cape Island and The Snares. There is one generation a year on The Snares with adults being on the wing in January and February. Larvae are feed on plants in the Olearia genus.

Taxonomy[]

This species was first described by in 1979 using specimens collected by and named Asterivora oleariae.[3] In 1988 Dugdale confirmed this placement.[1] The male holotype specimen, collected at the Snares Islands, is held at the New Zealand Arthropod Collection.[1]

Description[]

Dugdale described this species as follows:

Antenna with whorls of long setulae in ♂; frons white-scaled ventrally, darker above; ocelli fringed below by a line of white scales; head, thorax, and abdomen clothed above in grey-brown scaleswhite-tipped on head, uniform elsewhere-intermingled with white scales; venter with uniform buff or white scales. Forewing patterned in dark grey and white ... pale areas larger in ♀; hindwing dark grey, white sub terminal band lacking. Length (vertex to wingtip) 8.5-8.7 mm (The Snares), 7.0 mm (Stewart I.).[3]

The pupa of this species is black in colour.[3]

Distribution[]

This species is endemic to New Zealand but has been collected in The Snares, Stewart Island and Big South Cape Island.[2][3]

Life cycle[]

There is one generation per year on The Snares.[3] Adults are on the wing in January and February.[3] It has been hypothesised that the larval development coincides with the leaf development of its host plants.[3]

Hosts[]

Olearia colensoi, a larval host plant of A. oleariae

The larvae feed on plants in the genus Olearia including Olearia colensoi, and .[3]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c John Stewart Dugdale (23 September 1988). "Lepidoptera - annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa" (PDF). Fauna of New Zealand. Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. 14: 114. doi:10.7931/J2/FNZ.14. ISSN 0111-5383. Wikidata Q45083134. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 July 2021.
  2. ^ a b Gordon, Dennis P., ed. (2010). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: Kingdom animalia : chaetognatha, ecdysozoa, ichnofossils. Vol. 2. p. 457. ISBN 978-1-877257-93-3. OCLC 973607714. OL 25288394M. Wikidata Q45922947.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h J. S. Dugdale (July 1979). "A new generic name for the New Zealand species previously assigned to Simaethis auctorum (Lepidoptera: Choreutidae), with description of a new species". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 6 (3): 461–466. doi:10.1080/03014223.1979.10428386. ISSN 0301-4223. Wikidata Q54576372.
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